Steve Smith Sr. to retire after 2015 season:

After the Carolina Panthers decided Steve Smith was no longer part of the team’s future, Smith took his talents to the Baltimore Ravens and added Sr. to the back of his jersey. After a year in Baltimore where Smith caught more balls than he had since 2011, the veteran receiver has decided to call 2015 his final season.

After being drafted in the third round (74^th-overall) in 2001, Smith played in less than 14 games only once during his career. Despite his stature, Smith, just 5-foot-9, and 185 pounds, was always the toughest guy on the field. When Smith wasn’t the toughest guy on the field, it didn’t matter because he had no idea he wasn’t.

Even though Smith made a career of getting under defender’s skin and playing a physical brand of football, the receiver, entering his 15^th-NFL season, has missed just 26 games over his career with 15 of those games coming in 2004.

Over his career, Smith has amassed 915 receptions for 13,262 yards with 73 touchdowns. The Ravens will lean heavily on Smith again in 2015 as the team’s receiving unit will be younger with the departure of long-time Raven Torrey Smith, and the drafting of Breshad Perriman.

At 6-foot-2 and 218 pounds, and very fast, Perriman has all the physical tools to be a top-flight NFL receiver, but he’s very raw and will need to pick up as much as he can from Smith in his final year in the NFL.

Matt Cassel to start preseason opener for Bills:

The Buffalo Bills haven’t decided who will be their starting quarterback when the 2015 season opens in September, and while there are reports that they may wait until right before the season to name a starter, Rex Ryan has decided who will get the first-team reps in the team’s preseason opener Friday night against the Panthers.

Ryan told the media Monday that veteran quarterback Matt Cassel will start the home opener Friday, but added that the team hadn’t determined how much time each quarterback will get.

While Cassel is getting the first nod for Buffalo, third-year quarterback E.J. Manuel, who the team drafted in the first round in 2013, and fifth-year quarterback Tyrod Taylor are all in competition for the starting quarterback job.

Cassel is the known commodity of the three quarterbacks, but entering his 11^th season, he’s clearly not the future in Buffalo, so Ryan and company have to be hoping that either Taylor or Manuel take control of the job during the preseason.

Whoever wrestles the quarterback job away from the others will have a new look Buffalo offense to lead. With additions like LeSean McCoy, Percy Harvin and Charles Clay, the Bills quarterbacks will have explosive weapons to move the ball down the field with.

Whether it’s right before the opener or later in the preseason, it’s clear the Bills are going to give all three of these quarterbacks an opportunity to be the starter.

Buccaneers make David extension official, sign Tony McDaniel:

Monday the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made official the extension of one of the team’s cornerstones, linebacker Lavonte David. While it’s never fair to compare any young player to a Hall of Famer, David’s elite speed and playmaking ability at his weak-side linebacker spot have many in Tampa Bay calling David the Derrick Brooks to Gerald McCoy’s, Warren Sapp.

While Tampa Bay attempts to recreate a dominant Tampa-2 defense like the one that won the franchise it’s only Super Bowl in 2002, it now has its two key members signed up to long-term deals after the team inked David to a 5-year extension for $50.25 million contract with $25 million in guarantees.

While David is sometimes overlooked in the discussion of great outside linebackers because of the sack numbers generated by 3-4 outside backers, there’s no questioning his value when you watch the Buccaneers defense.

The Buccaneers know David’s value, and they made getting David singed to an extension a priority.

“There’s several reasons why we’re excited about extending Lavonte, but first and foremost, he’s a phenomenal player, elite Will linebacker – elite linebacker – but he’s a professional,” Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said at the press conference to announce David’s extension. “One of the most professional players I’ve been around. He and (defensive tackle) Gerald McCoy epitomize what professionalism is in the NFL.”

The Bucs know they need the best out of David for this defense to perform at its best, and this week head coach Lovie Smith challenged David to be a top-tier player, a challenge David welcomes.

“That’s just the expectation that he has for all of his players, especially a guy like me, who has some big shoes to fill. Obviously, I’ve done it before, so he thinks I can do it again and I believe I can do it again. Now it’s up to me to get out there and just perform at my highest level week-in and week-out and just try to keep making this organization very happy and just keep doing what I’m supposed to do on the football field.”

David is motivated to be a great player and teammate, and he proved that by refusing to hold out until this contract got done and instead coming to training camp determined to set an example with his presence. For David it was about what was best for his team, and it’s that motivation that will keep him working hard despite his new payday. David was asked where he wants to improve his game, and it’s clear he feels he’s still got a lot of growing to do.

“Obviously, just being more of a playmaker that I know I can be. Making positive impacts on the field, whether it’s causing more turnovers, getting our offense back the football as much as I can. Being a better leader, being a better vocal leader, David explained. “Making sure guys are doing what they’re supposed to do when they’re supposed to do it. Just having respect for the game; going out there having fun like I’ve been doing. Just, man, it’s all about football. I don’t know, I just love the game. Scoring, I need a couple touchdowns this year, too. Coach (Lovie Smith) made an emphasis on that already and they’re getting on me real hard about that. I’m not going to tell y’all what’s been happening in practice, but they’ve been getting on me real hard about that.”

While David feels he still has a lot of areas where he can improve his game, the Bucs linebacker is already one of the best young linebackers in the game, and now he’s being paid like it.

The Buccaneers also added some depth to their defensive line on Monday signing Seattle Seahawks cast-off Tony McDaniel, who started 29 games over the last two seasons in Seattle.

McDaniel is another big body added to a position that already boasts Gerald McCoy, Clinton McDonald, Henry Melton and Akeem Spence, who is on the shelf after back surgery.